LLDA leads effort to revive local bamboo industry

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) is leading an effort to revive the local bamboo industry which promises to provide millions of dollars in export revenues for the country and presents huge potentials for rural and agriculture development.

“Recent studies have shown that bamboo has around 1,500 uses ranging from food production to building materials, aside from being a carbon sequester,” said LLDA general manager Edgardo C. Manda.

At the start of 2008, private sector and farmer interest in making bamboo – considered the “a grass of hope” – a viable industry has been increasing, said Manda.

Consider the following:

• World trade on bamboo and bamboo products was estimated at $12 billion in 2002 and was growing at $2 billion yearly. Bamboo flooring enjoys a very good demand especially in environment-conscious Europe where people are willing to pay more than $100 per square meter of bamboo flooring compared to only about $25 per square meter for a floor made of oak;

• Back in 2002, the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines said it needed some 1.5 million poles of bamboo and that the demand would increase to 1.875 million the following year. There are studies which indicate that a farmer can earn close to P300,000 per year from a one-hectare bamboo plantation.

Perhaps the more important reason why farmers and all landowners should plant bamboo is its contribution to the environment.

According to Manda, bamboo does an excellent job of rejuvenating degraded lands and protecting them against soil erosion, landslides, mudslides and slippage. Its massive root system helps control soil erosion and surface run-off in fragile riverbanks.

Bamboo is also an ideal windbreaker and helps protect farm crops, structures and other properties from destructive wind.

Finally, bamboo helps in carbon sequestration and conservation of biodiversity considering that it produces large amounts of biomass which conserve ground moisture and is converted into organic matter when it decomposes. Studies have shown that one hectare of bamboo plantation can sequester up to 12 tons carbon per year.

Importantly, too, bamboo is a renewable and sustainable resource which matures in a short time. According to Manda, bamboo has a much shorter gestation period than trees. He said a bamboo stand starts to yield after three to four years from planting. What’s more, bamboo can be harvested annually and non-destructively. It has the ability to regenerate or replace itself when damaged or extracted or harvested, Manda pointed out.

Bamboo can be productive for up to 50 years, depending on the species or variety. It can grow three times faster than the fastest growing tree.

 “The Philippines somehow missed the opportunity to cash in on the viability of bamboo, unlike China which already has an established bamboo industry,” said Manda. “But it is not too late, because the need for bamboo as a watershed crop, additional food source, and provider of building materials remains constant.”

In line with this, LLDA is spearheading the 1st National Bamboo Development Forum to be held from Oct. 22-24 at the PTTC on Pasay City. Its partners are members of the Bamboo Network, an alliance of private sector individuals and business groups that will actively take part in establishing a viable bamboo industry in the Philippines.